Beverages & More
Categories: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Tobacco Shops [Edit]
342 E Hillsdale BlvdSan Mateo, CA 94403 (650) 577-8161
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
66 reviews
Redwood City, CA
"Not surpisingly, I still love this place, and I am now going to come here to get a bottle every time I go to John Bentley's next door.…" read more »
10 Reviews for Beverages & More
Love BevMo, although this location has always been sold out of my favorite single malt scotch "Macallans" 12yr, every time I've been there. Pretty knowledgeable staff. Once asked for advice on a good blanco tequila other than Patron Silver and one of the employees had one for me...He was so sure that I would love "his dad's favorite after work tequila" that he offered to buy it back from me if I didn't like it. Bingo, he was right! Great place to pick up the hard to find Kona Brewing Company beers at a nice price! Also have a small selection of popular cigar choices...although, if you're a cigar enthusiast I would go to a cigar shop!
I typically go to this BevMo before or after grocery shopping at the nearby Whole Foods. It's not the best liquor store but the prices and selection are decent, the employees are nice and somewhat knowledgeable, and, um, it smells nice in there.
Plus, they've got their regular 5-cent sale on wines, which is a terrific way to discover new wines. I mean, how can you really know whether or not you like a wine after just one bottle? C'mon!
How do you know if you're a degenerate drunk? Here are some clues.
#1 - Degenerate Friends
After a losing day at Bay Meadows your wife suggests that she wants to pick up a bottle of Cuervo Black because you'd been saying you saw it on TV. Instead of Nob Hill, she suggests Bevmo. My friend agrees.
#2 - Unexpected Degenerate Friends
While in line at Bevmo, someone else you know walks in. You say, "Hi buddy!" He says, "Oh I'm just stopping in here for a little afternoon thing." Damn straight, a little somethin' somethin' knosayin?
#3 - 10am Weekday
There is a line outside this store. It is a line of sad, desperate people who are looking for a fix. I'm not going to tell you how I know this.
#4 - Worker Recognition
The workers say hello to you knowingly as you walk through the door.
#5 - You Talk Like A Drunk
When in line, I noticed they had a keychain BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) meter. I pointed and told my buddy, "You'd have to be an idiot to have one of those. If you got arrested for DUI they'd know you knew you shouldn't be driving." Several couples buying wine in the other line did a double take and shook their heads in disapproval.
If you've answered yes to any of these questions, congrats! You're probably a dirty drunk scumbag. I welcome you brothers and sisters.
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The other yelper ain't lying about the staff being confused. The cold beer selection has been cut down. Their prices aren't as low as they used to be. The lines drag. Cold stuff isn't too cold. They do have a great wine, liquor and warm beer selection.
Always interesting to see people buy tons of liquor in the middle of the day. What exactly are they loading up for on a Wednesday? Must be nice whatever it is. Stepped in here to check to see if they carried Ardbeg (which they carry sometimes but it's rarer than not) and unfortunately they didn't have any. They carry just about everything else you'd expect a BevMo would though. Maybe next time I get some tacos from the Peralta truck out front I'll get myself 750ml of something here to accompany it!
Not crazy about this BevMo... aisles are somewhat cramped, their selection isn't very good and the staff seems confused.
I'll go for just the basics if I'm having a party and happen to be in the area... but otherwise I'll stick to the ones in SF (VanNess or Geary).
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I came here to get some supplies for a party on my birthday, and I was pretty happy that the prices seem lower than most stores (especially after coming from Draeger's). They have basically all the hard alcohol a teenager can think of, many wine selections and a ton of different shot glasses. We ended up taking home 8 shot glasses (the last 8 they had), a shaker and some coctail mix. Pretty cool place for party supplies.
Liquor is quicker at BevMo. Overlooked on a weird corner near the Whole Foods complex on Hillsdale. You can find just about everything here for CHEEEAAAAPPP. If you are having Michael Ernst over, better get some jug-format alcohol and as he notes, BevMo is the place to get it done.
This review may be a bit unfair, but here is what happened to me today.
I needed to pick up a few bottles of wine for various events and special occasions that are sneaking up on me. So I'm browsing the shelves and I toss in a 2002 Twomey Merlot ($59.00), a French Medoc ($45.00) 2003 Stags Leap Petite Sirah ($37.00 I think) and I also pick up a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin gift set for around $20.00 for my Dad (I figure for Christmas-he loves his Martini's). I make one more pass around and find a bottle of 2001 Hanna Syrah that is normally around $40.00 that is on sale where the deal is you buy one bottle and you get the second for a nickle! I figure, hmmm "good deal" So I pick up the bottle and start rummaging looking for a second bottle and cant fine one. So I ask the checker if they have anymore in back and they come back and say, "nope, sorry that's the last one". I ask if I can just get the discount since they only have one left and they say "nope, sorry". I then say "what if I pick up another bottle of equal price or more then can I get the discount?". Nope, sorry. This kind of put me off. Here I was holding $165 or so in purchases (not including the Hanna) and they were not being helpful at all. Just did not appear to me that they valued my business one bit. So I went back into the aisle's and placed each item back and left the store and went down to the Wine Globe and bought my wine and a bottle of Hine Cognac (instead of the Bombay Sapphire). Am I being unreasonable? I don't know, maybe I just don't understand the retail business enough and the store was in no position to do anything. Who knows.
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pros:
friendly staff
tons of alcohol
nice prices
sampling days/event calendar
cons:
can get crowded in the early evening
not enough space between aisles
closes too early, 8 or 9 pm.
People thought this was:
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